The Wainwright Gideons welcomed local dignitaries, parishioners and community members to the Communiplex on Saturday, March 18, for their 41st annual fundraising banquet.

The event raised about $22,000, which will go toward the group’s efforts to send more than 6,000 bibles to countries in need including Nicaragua, Russia and China, as well as communities in Northern Canada that don’t have access to scriptures.

Guests enjoyed an evening of food and entertainment provided by Alberta-based southern gospel quartet Potter’s Clay. Member of the Gideons Wainwright Chapter Keith Brower says he was pleased with the turnout at Saturday’s banquet, and the group is always grateful to have the support of the community.

“The community’s support has always been really good. We ask the mayor to speak and the school board to bring greetings, and we always involve the military. We had the Lieutenant Colonel there and he spoke and did a very fine job,” said Brower.

The event also included a presentation by Gideons International in Canada representative Casey Bjorndal, which informed guests about the work of Gideons International and the different countries who will be receiving bibles thanks to the generosity of the local community.

Brower says the event gave the community an opportunity to see that the work of the Gideons is about much more than distributing scriptures, and spreading a message of hope to those in need is their number one priority.

“People get themselves into messes it seems, and I think the word hope is probably the biggest thing. There are a lot of hopeless people out there and there are a lot of lonely people, and people need hope,” said Brower.

“We think the message that Christ proclaimed gives hope to people, so that is the basis of what we do.”